The Disappearance of Jack Reese Year Five
by silversurf4
Summary: Five years after he walked out of his life, Jack Reese has a chance encounter that makes him wonder if it was the best decision.
1. Chapter 1

The Disappearance of Jack Reese – Year Five

The first time Jack Reese saw his daughter in five years - was in of all places a supermarket. He thought he saw her all the time. Every petite dark haired young woman with a pony tail got a second look from him and often a dirty stare because they presumed he was looking at them for something he wasn't. He thought perhaps he'd see Dani on the news, at a crime scene or maybe when she was promoted to a political position in the Department, but even Jack had to admit – departmental politics and his daughter would never work out.

This day however, he was picking up some breakfast cereal, when he saw her turn the corner down the aisle he was shopping on and it really was her, his Dani. She was looking directly at him, but focused about three feet off the ground searching for something or someone small. He didn't think she'd recognize him in the ball cap and dark sunglasses and she was so distracted she didn't.

Jack stared right at his daughter scrutinizing the fine details. She was almost exactly the same, save a few tiny crinkles at the corners of her eyes, ones that usually came from smiling, which was odd because his daughter never really smiled much. Her dark eyes were intently focused and searching, her was body tight and tense, balanced like a dancer. She was wearing her hair down and she looked worried, her brow furrowed into a tight crease. Then instantly she raised her vision and visibly relaxed – even smiled.

Jack thought it was a strange reaction to seeing him again after his disappearing act, but returned her smile. Just as he did, however Jack realized she was looking beyond him, through him, not at him at all.

"Mommy" a small voice behind him announced from just over his shoulder, as the child passed by in the arms of a tall man with reddish brown hair.

"She was helping someone who was lost" said the man whose voice Jack instantly recognized. He stood spell bound as Crews released the child onto the ground and she scampered at his daughter. Dani lifted the girl, with dark curly hair like hers, up quietly scolding her with a smile still playing across her features.

Jack wondered when Dani found time to have a child and what man had captured his daughter's heart. He could see she was still partnered with Crews and they remained joined at the hip. Inwardly he cursed Karen Davis for letting the Department put his daughter with that maniac ex-con, but at least he was loyal, Jack begrudgingly gave Crews that.

Dani was still quietly chiding her daughter when Crews caught up to them and he caught a fraction of a child's "outside voice" used inside "and then Daddy found me".

The implication chilled Jack Reese and froze him to the spot. The "Daddy" the child referred to as she twisted in her mother's arms and pointed towards was Crews.

Charlie Crews had a child with his daughter. He leaned in and kissed Dani on the mouth and patted the girl on the head, scolding her slightly "Honey you really scared your mom, I know you want to help people and that's good, but tell us before you run off okay?" The small tight knit family was in a tiny bubble that included only them. It was as if the rest of the aisle, store, block, city, state and planet existed somewhere else. Dani and Crews so focused on their daughter and immune to any other distraction. "Let's have mango" the little girl's outside voice got away from her again. Charlie smiled brightly, Dani scowled and pronounced "you can not have mango for dinner" then as an added aside to Crews "she may look like me - but she's definitely her father's daughter" then another aside almost as if she was talking to herself "honestly, who eats fruit for dinner?" before delivering a feigned exasperated sigh, sending the little girl into a fit of giggles.... "Daddy does" the girl laughed. Crews just smiled amused at the interaction and opened his hands as if to prove he had nothing to do with the exchange.

Jack executed a stiff "about face" and clenching his fists marched away from them. Everything he sacrificed, planned and gave up to keep his daughter safe and here she was with Charlie Crews. Crews, a convicted murderer (never mind it had been a frame up); the man spent twelve years in federal maximum security prison, where god knows what had happened to him. And the idea that Crews was with his daughter, had a child with his daughter…it made Jack's blood boil.

The question was did it make enough of a difference to bring him out of hiding. Five years is a long time to stay away from your family, even if it was for their own good.

When you make a single poor choice, do you pay for it forever? Apparently he did. Or at least so it seemed to him. If he came back now, would his family take him back? No amount of money could replace what Jack lost that day when he decided to sell his integrity for money he didn't earn. Would it make any difference that he regretted it everyday since that damned robbery? If he came back, what would she say? Would it make any difference at all to his stubborn daughter?

Jack remembered Dani as a small child, so stubborn, so willful, so absolutely intent on things. She could not be made to do anything, but tell her she couldn't do something – and she would do it or die trying. And once she made up her mind, Dani was impossible to move, in that way she was just like him. If she had chosen Crews, what possible hope did he have of changing her mind?

He was still fixed in thought when the family exited the grocery store, Charlie dutifully carrying both the groceries and the daughter and Dani clutching the keys. He watched transfixed as they climbed into a dark sedan, strapping the little girl safely into her child restraint, before Crews placed the groceries on the floorboard and slid into the passenger seat.

Dani remained vigilant, scanning the parking lot like a hawk, as if she knew she was being watched. A comment from someone in the car drew her attention, caused her to smile again, duck into the car and slip behind the wheel. Jack never knew his daughter to smile as many times in a week, as he'd just witnessed in the last ten minutes. What would happen to those smiles if he came back into her life?

Still undecided, Jack started his car and followed at a safe distance as Dani wound her way up the hillside toward Crews home.... Jack guessed probably now hers as well. He'd have to make a choice up there at the top. It was a cul-de-sac, one way in, one way out, she'd see him for certain, unless he stopped now and faded away. But five years is a long time to hide and Jack Reese figured maybe his fading away days were at an end.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two…

Jack Reese steered his car into the driveway of a house about two lots away from the top of the winding road that led to Charlie Crews' house. He could not yet bring himself to believe - or accept - that his daughter lived there too, although it was painfully obvious. But then Jack was master at ignoring the obvious. He could shut out the sunlight at noon - if he chose to.

He looked up the hill as Dani artfully wove the car through remaining switchbacks to the mansion at the pinnacle of the hill. Jack pulled a pair of binos from the detritus that littered his front seat, lowered his window and examined them from afar. His daughter parked the car out front , in the broad circular drive, and as soon as Crews unbelted the little girl, she was off like a shot for the front door. Barely reaching the handle, she still managed to action the unlocked door.

_Who leaves their door unlocked in LA?_ Jack thought. "Crews is an idiot"he mumbled to himself. _What kind of cop doesn't even bother to protect his house? What does that say about the safety of his family?_ Slowly, subconsciously the image and idea that Crews and his daughter were in fact family began to seep into his brain, like blood through a bandage.

The door opened a crack exposing the nose of a very energetic black and white Border collie who frantically charged the little girl, knocking her to seated position on the pavement and began circling her, in a herding behavior, licking her ears, face and neck. "Daddy help! Ripley is trying to eat me" she giggled, holding her arms over her head, making the dog try even harder to nudge his way in.

Dani stood apart from them on the other side of car, still scanning as if she could feel him watching. _That was his kid - good cop, good instincts, still sharp as a razor, _Jack thought proudly. As he watched, Crews reached down and plucked his daughter from the ground and she promptly began wiping her face against his shirt and sleeves. "Hey, no dog slobber on the threads, kiddo" he laughed.

Kiddo – a phrase from the past – a term from their collective pasts. Popular in the sixties, it was more in vogue these days to use "bud" or "dude" but Crews lost a good portion of his life in prison, more than a decade - where his life was on "pause" while the world played on. It made him forever behind the learning curve and Jack doubted the man would ever truly recover or catch up with the times, despite his wealth and all the things he could buy with it. You can't buy back time, Jack thought, this lesson he knew well.

Who would Charlie Crews have been - had he not been sent to prison for killing the Seybolt family? Jack wondered as sat still watching the quiet house on the hilltop. Probably some run of the mill patrol officer looking for his twenty and his pension. Still married to that pretty blonde wife of his, with a couple teenage kids and a mortgage. He'd probably never have met Dani, who was a tough little twelve year old, tomboy, when the Bank of Los Angeles robbery went down and all their lives changed forever.

Crews was already a young patrolman back then, twenty or twenty one years old, making him eight or nine years Dani's senior. Had it not been for that damned robbery and the ensuing sequence of events, his daughter would likely have never known Charlie Crews. She shouldn't be here, his Dani and she shouldn't have been partnered with Crews – at work or at home, Jack thought angrily.

The little family had long since gone into their giant house and disappeared from view, while Jack was lost in thought and remembering his questionable past. The effect of which was to destroy everything he fought so hard to build. Deep down, in a way, Jack Reese knew all this was his fault. They were living out a narrative of events set in motion years prior and could he have reached through time to see how things would end, he would have made decidedly different choices.

Drawn by an impulse to look into what his daughter's life had become, he waited until twilight and nudged the car closer in the darkening sky with no lights on. He didn't even hit the brakes lighting up his taillights, but instead took the car out of gear and rolled to a natural stop on a piece of flat road affording him a view of the back yard. Years of surveillance technique training was not lost on Jack Reese, slowly he forced the car into park and again took up his binos.

_Crews really should invest in fence_ Jack thought_, you can see right into the house from here_, but he didn't need to, as it was a nice night and they were on the stone porch and around the pool. There weren't many lights, but the low blue, green, glow from the pool lit their faces and left the rest in shadow.

Crews was in swim trunks with his arms around Dani, who stood watching their daughter swim, while the dog barked frantically, pacing madly back and forth. Simultaneously, both Crews and Dani spoke the dog's name sharply "Ripley" and then smiled at the synchronicity of the their action. The dog for his part looked at them expectantly, ceased barking for about ten seconds and then happily began chasing and barking more quietly again. Crews rested his chin on Dani's head. Jack could tell Dani had been swimming with her daughter because her hair was swept back from her face and still wet. Dani shivered and Crews reached for and wrapped her in a monstrous towel.

Crews near foot height advantage and the size of the towel had the additive effect of dwarfing Dani making her appear childlike. And for a moment in Jack's mind, Dani was a small child again, in their own backyard, her lips and fingers blue, refusing to come out of the water, insisting she was "fine" - warm enough, when he could clearly see her teeth chatter.

Dani smiled and bent forward, retrieving and then tossing a ball into the pool. The dog fidgeted and then leapt into the water, eliciting a squeal of delight from the little girl. Strange Jack thought, he knew the dog's name, but not the girl's and then as if on cue, Dani spoke to her daughter.

"Okay, Sam time to get out." She spoke in even tones to her daughter. "You need to warm up and settle down before bed". Jack could hear the "but moms" before they started, but Dani held firm and Crews went poolside to fish the little girl out of the pool. The dog came to Dani's feet, dropped the ball and shook profusely, showering her with the spray. "Ripley" she protested before taking a towel to the dog; who thought the entire episode was a game. The dog grabbed an end of the towel and began tugging.

"Crews - a little help" she said to her partner? Lover? Husband? Jack was unsure which applied – thinking maybe all were accurate. Crews draped his daughter over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and then deposited her on a chaise lounge before attempting to help Dani with the unruly dog.

The little girl, Sam, Jack's grand daughter he thought _that'll take some getting used to_ - leaned sleepily back in the chair and watched in amazement as the dog got the better of both her parents, who ultimately let him have the towel. Sam's eyes were drifting closed, by the time her parents noticed, because Crews was putting his hands in obscene places on his daughter, places Jack couldn't watch.

Dani melted into Charlie Crews embrace, winding her arms around the tall man's back and Jack could make out the sharp contrast in their skin tone. Dani always had her mother's coloring; the rich tanned skin of the Arab peoples, with her mother's luminous dark eyes and rich dark flowing hair. Since she as a child, Dani had been a carbon copy of his wife. Jack missed his wife, he missed his home and the life he had before it had all gone so horribly wrong and he left.

His intentions were to spare his family the embarrassment of his arrest, which Crews seemed so intent on.

Would Crews still want his revenge, now that they shared so much? Jack wondered. In his mind, he was still deciding, but in his heart Jack Reese had already decided to find out the answer to that very question.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Knocking on the door of Charlie Crews' house was the last thing on his mind a few hours ago, but as Jack Reese walked up the drive he felt like a nervous sixteen year old on his first date. He had checked himself in the mirror before exiting his car to make sure he was still recognizable, the last thing he wanted to do was scare his daughter. Smoothing back his thick, white hair and losing the ball cap and glasses; Jack was satisfied he looked enough like himself Dani would recognize him.

He knocked loudly, but was surprised when the door swung open before he was finished knocking. Dani lounged against the door like she'd been waiting for him. Her left hand was high on the door and conspicuously present was a very expensive diamond channel wedding band. Well that answered that question – she wasn't shacked up here – they were married - and Crews spared no expense showing folks Dani was his.

"What took you so long?" Dani said in a clipped tone, examining the nails on her right hand with studied indifference. "We thought you were going to sit in the car all night" she said flatly.

"We?" was the only response Jack could manage.

"Hello Jack" said a voice behind his left ear and just over his shoulder. Jack Reese tensed, all the muscles in his body becoming rigid. _How the hell had Crews gotten behind him?_ Dani locked eyes with her mate and Crews retreated a few feet.

Jack was instantly flashed back to a special he'd seen on The Discovery Channel on wolves and pack behavior. Something about the way Dani drew his attention, while Crews circled in for the kill and the way they operated silently and effectively like a wolf pack separating a prey animal and making it vulnerable. Impressively, they operated without any speech, with just looks and moves indicating a level of coordination that defied human definition.

Jack swallowed hard and realized Crews and his daughter were "together" in a way he never achieved with anyone, not a partner, not his wife.

"Crews" Jack spoke tersely.

"I got this" Dani said to her husband. "You gonna come in? Or stand out there on the stoop all night? She questioned her father.

Crews walked past Jack through the open door and deliberately made a point of wrapping his arm around Dani's waist and pointedly kissing her. "Cut it out" she scolded, knowing precisely what Charlie was doing. "Put Sam to bed, Charlie. I can handle this." Crews stopped and looked down at her, but Dani's level gaze never waivered and Charlie acquiesced.

But as he turned and headed up the stairs, Crews could not resist a parting shot. "If you need backup, I'll be upstairs" he spoke to his partner and wife, but his eyes never left Jack Reese's and they glittered in warning.

"Christ, Crews I'm her father not some serial rapist or …an excon" he let the insinuation hang in the air.

Crews descended the stairs menacingly; his shoulders squared and unveiled hate burning brightly in his eyes. "This is my house, Jack. My wife, my family and you don't belong here".

Dani spoke sharply to both men, apparently the only one not intoxicated by the heady mix of ego and testosterone coursing through the room "enough" she said sharply, drawing both men's eyes.

"How dare you come in here, after vanishing without a word and act like this?" she said boldly drawing herself up to her look her father in the eye. Her gaze brooked no argument and Jack blinked first. She stopped Crews with her hand in his chest as she stepped between the two men.

Her voice was softer and lower as she spoke words only meant for her husband "you're not helping me here Charlie. I need to do this and I need you to trust me with it. Even if you don't trust him, trust me."

Charlie Crews changed before Jack's eyes. His gaze changed from a glare to a caress and he held Dani's eyes for a long moment before kissing her gently on the forehead and retreating up the stairs. "I'll tuck Sam in and read her a story and then I'll be back," Charlie said as both a promise to his wife and a warning to her father.

"Charlie" Dani held him up with a single word. "Don't let her sleep with that wet dog", he smiled down at her and replied, "I won't" and retreated quietly up the marble stairs, watching Jack the whole way.

Crews would honor Dani's wishes, but he didn't have to like it.

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"Daddy, why did the little girl eat all that porridge anyway?" Sam asked. "And what is porridge exactly?" she continued in her classic precocious four year old way.

Crews sighed. Most children would just zone out and listen to nightly bedtime stories, but not Sam. She was a questioning child, always wanting to know the strangest things about centuries old fairytales. His daughter was intelligent and smart kids were always the toughest to parent, or so the books said, but he wouldn't trade her for all the money in Fort Knox.

"Porridge is like oatmeal - only stickier" he offered half an answer.

"Yuck" Sam said making a face that again reminded him of Dani, which she did a lot.

Sam was effectively a carbon copy of Dani physically and her mannerisms equally mirrored her mother's. And like her mother, his daughter didn't miss a thing. She had an almost prescient ability to ask direct probative questions; like the next comment to leave his daughter's mouth which had nothing to do with Goldilocks or any of those bears.

"Who's Mommy talking to?" Sam asked with her dark eyes seeking his.

"That…. is a grownup thing that…. you don't need to know about" Charlie said in his most stern fatherly tone, trying hard to be convincing.

This simply elicited a scowl from his daughter, which so closely resembled Dani's he had to smile at the similarity. "That's enough story time for tonight. Now go to sleep" he pronounced, realizing he wasn't really there at all, Charlie was too busy listening intently for raised voices and poised to spring into action to rescue Dani from her father, Jack Reese.

"But you didn't finish" Sam complained.

"Sam" Charlie said incredulous "You know this story by heart and could probably tell it better than me". Crews, kissed his grumbling daughter on the forehead, ignoring her muttered complaints (another mannerism of her mother's), tucked her in and slipped quietly out the door, crossing paths with the ignored dog, Ripley, who took advantage of his distraction to slip into Sam's room. The slight little dog took his duty to protect his little girl very seriously and separating the two was almost impossible, especially when people were distracted.

"Ripley" she whispered excitedly as he clambered onto her bed and circled thrice before laying down next the Sam and putting his nose under her chin. Both sighed contentedly and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The silence between Dani and her father was stifling, neither sure of where to begin. Jack decided he walked into this, so he should begin "So you and Crews?" he said.

He could tell from the look on her face it was precisely the wrong tack to take as she immediately bristled and crossed her arms across her chest, effectively closing herself off to him.

"Charlie Crews is my husband, the father of my children and if you can't accept that, you had better just leave" she said sternly. Same Dani, Jack thought as he could see the stubbornness set in behind her eyes and in her jaw.

"What children? I see one little girl." Jack counter awkwardly.

Dani said nothing, simply looking down, drawing Jack's attention to her waistline.

How he could have missed it, he didn't know, suddenly it was obvious his daughter was pregnant, not noticeably so, but a little rounder in her middle and her face less angular. He suddenly felt like a real heel for trying to go toe to toe with her husband with his pregnant daughter acting as a referee. No wonder Crews was so protective, he thought, subconsciously giving the younger man the benefit of the doubt.

"Jesus, Dani " he breathed out suddenly concerned "do you want to sit down?"

"I'm pregnant Dad, not dying. I chase a four year old around all day. I think I can handle standing here talking for a few minutes" she said wryly.

"You're not still with the Department?" Jack wondered if she'd given up being a cop to be a mom.

"Be real, Dad. I'm still a cop and I'm a mom and Crews is still a cop and a dad, but both are full time jobs, IF - you do them right" she said stiffly. The implication was patently there. His daughter believed Jack Reese had done neither right; he was neither a good father nor a good cop.

"I guess you're right, Dani" he said softly. "I made a mistake coming here."

"Wait" she said. "Are you really going to just leave again?"

He turned and stared hard at her. "I don't know if you noticed, but your husband and I don't exactly get along, Dani."

"And why is that Dad? What has Charlie Crews ever done to you?" she laid it all out there so perfectly. His kid still had that go for the throat instinct. Jack admired it when she applied it to other people, but it was a little uncomfortable when she used it on him.

Part of him wanted to bark at her like he had when she was a willful, stubborn, obstinate teenager; but the other part saw only his little girl sitting on the curb at the age of six trying hard not to cry with her knees and palms skinned up from learning to roller skate on the street in front of their house. She would get up and go again and again, despite her injuries because Dani simply did not know how to quit.

He also knew that the road back involved contrition. Someone had to give in, and whether it was wisdom or weakness, Jack knew this time it would have to be him.

"Okay…I get it. You're right. It's not his fault. It's just…." He was unsure how to finish. Unwilling to compliment the man and knowing he couldn't say anything uncomplimentary without pissing her off.

"Just what?" She demanded.

"He's an ex –" her vicious look stopped him cold. "I just wanted more for you honey." He tried softly.

"Crews is all I want and all I need. You need to accept that or you can leave right now and don't bother coming back here."

Charlie Crews stood at the stop of the stairs, listening and fighting an internal argument. Go downstairs to back up his partner and piss off his wife or stay upstairs respect his wife's request and leave his partner hanging. Dani was capable and more than holding her own, but he didn't like his partner having to defend him to her father of all people. Charlie found his Zen was failing him miserably. Nothing in any of the books said anything remotely helpful regarding leaving your pregnant wife downstairs defending you, so husband won out over Zen Master and he decided he was going in - even if it meant spending the rest of the month in the proverbial doghouse.

Stubborn to the end, Jack recalled. How Crews ever won any arguments with her Jack didn't know, he thought. For a half a second, Jack was even mildly sympathetic towards the younger man, until he caught himself.

"What are you doing here Dad?" Dani was direct. Another classic quality his daughter had. She didn't speak often, but when she did it was unerringly and disturbingly direct and in your face – still his kid.

"I've been out in the cold a long time, kid. I saw you today and thought maybe it was time to come in." He said honestly without any attitude.

Dani said nothing as she considered his comment. His daughter could be impossible to read when she dropped that wall in front of her. But she brightened looking up and Jack knew why instinctively without looking – just like in the supermarket - it was Crews.

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"Where's the dog, Charlie?" she asked simply. Crews looked down and realized his constant shadow, after Sam was in bed, was gone, which could only mean one thing, a wet dog in his daughter's bed. Dani sighed in exasperation and headed up stairs.

"Dani… " he started. "Forget it Charlie, I'll get it." She said squeezing his hand as she passed him on the stairs. "No fighting" she whispered to him, earning her a smirk, a wink and a "copy that" under his breath. Charlie found he immediately and suddenly relaxed as soon as Dani was behind him. Good he thought, what's in front of me I can fight, eyeing Jack Reese coldly.

Jack didn't miss the exchange. Even pissed off at him and upset with Crews, Dani didn't miss the opportunity to express affection to the long, lanky man who captured his daughter's heart. Charlie Crews was the father of his grandchildren and Jack still couldn't stand him.

Maybe it the younger man's self assurance and cockiness, maybe it was the fact that deep down Jack didn't think any flat foot was good enough for his daughter. Maybe it was the guilt he felt looking at Crews – the man they'd all let bear the load and go to jail for something he didn't do. Instead of fading away, quitting or dying in there, Crews had the temerity to survive and each time Jack looked at the red hair man he saw his own guilt, his own shame and his own failings.

"I remember you - when you were a snot nosed skinny little punk in the academy. I honestly didn't think you'd survive prison. Why couldn't you just die in there?" Jack said bitterly, once Dani was out of earshot.

Charlie Crews desperately wanted to descend those stairs and visit pain on the person of Jack Reese, but that really wasn't an option. Even before Dani and he were "together" he trod lightly when it came to her father. Now, he reached for his Zen to keep from wrapping his hands around the older man's throat and watching the light go out in Jack's eyes liked he really wanted to. He inhaled deeply and spoke as he exhaled evenly "In a way I did die in there, but I also didn't die Jack, I was reborn. I am a different man now – a husband, a father and a forgiving soul. In prison I suffered, but suffering cracks open the shell of ego, and then comes a point when it has served its purpose. Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary." Charlie said retrieving a nugget of Zen from his arsenal and applying it to block Jack Reese and abide by his promise to Dani.

"Well, I can see who wears the pants in this family… my daughter" Jack said snidely.

"Yes, Jack. She does. She is a strong, capable woman and this is her house and her family, but.... she is mine and I will fight to keep her away from anything that I think is dangerous to her – even if that turns out to be you." Crews countered coldly.

"Come in my house again, raise your voice to her, or my children again and… you'll leave on a gurney. My solemn promise to you Jack" Crews said without blinking. He smiled to emphasize that he might actually enjoy that last part.

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The door to Sam's room opened with a quiet snick and Ripley raised his head off Sam's chest to inquire. Yellow light leaked in from the hallway and a sliver of light shone across her daughter's bed where the guilty looking collie lay huddled against her daughter's small frame.

"Ripley" she reached down to touch the dog on the head "bad dog" she said mildly. The dog had been a concession to Charlie, but now she had to admit the collie was devoted to her daughter and rarely left the girls' side. When Sam started school, Dani worried the dog might not react well. "Get down" she whispered in a low hiss. But Ripley was determined to stay, so he nosed under Sam's ear tickling her and waking the child.

Dani sighed because any discussion with her daughter about the dog ended in crying from Sam and whining from Ripley. Dani just didn't feel up to that tonight. She walked to the hall closet and retrieved a large towel, considering what she would say to her father when she returned to the discussion.

Laying the towel on the bed she coaxed the dog onto it and stuffed a blanket between Sam and wet bedding. "Ripley is a good dog, Mommy" Sam said sleepily.

"Of course he is honey" Dani said absently stroking her daughter's hair.

"Daddy didn't read the whole story and I don't think he really knows what porridge is" Sam continued to grumbled.

"I'm sure he knows what porridge is Sam, we'll talk about it in the morning" Dani said encouraging her daughter to sleep. The conversation and contact with her daughter, soothed Dani. Her heartbeat and breathing normalized after exchange with her father, which despite the fact that she expected tension, was more than she'd bargained for.

"Okay" Sam yawned "as long as we don't have to eat it", making Dani smile.

"No porridge I promise" Dani said lightly "now go to sleep both of you". Sam turned sideways, slinging an arm over the dog and sighing contentedly. The dog also sighed and placed his nose in the crook of the child's neck and closed it's eyes. They were perfectly matched her daughter and the small slight dog and very devoted to one another. It seemed cruel to separate them, so she let them stay like that and continued downstairs to finish with her father.

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Downstairs, Dani found no sign of Jack Reese and Crews washing glasses in the sink and whistling cheerfully.

"Where is he?" Dani inquired.

"Oh, hey. He left. He'll be back, but he'll be different" Charlie said brightly.

"What'd you say to him?" She asked skeptical of his ebullience. "I'm not going to find his body in his car in the morning at the bottom of a ravine am I Crews?"

"I just shared a little Zen wisdom with him and he left. Promised he'd be back, said he needed to see your mother." Charlie continued, turning off the water and drying his hands with a dishtowel, while he leaned against the counter.

"And you didn't tell him she lives here?" she asked incredulous.

Crews smiled broadly "Well he does seem to know everything. So I decided to see if he would embrace not knowing what he doesn't know" Crews said with a touch of pride.

"You have a mean streak, you know?" she said walking closer.

"Isn't that why you love me?" he pulled her to his chest.

"No, that's not it" she smiled.

"Is it my charm and good looks?" he teased kissing her.

"No, it's not that either" she started to unwind in his arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Dani smiled as he kissed her.

"Must be the Zen, drives women crazy" Charlie murmured against her neck as he kissed along her jaw line to her earlobe.

"You're so full of shit Crews" Dani said laughing.

"Is that why you love me?" he smiled against the side of her face, before pulling back slightly and using both hands to frame her face and kiss her gently.

"Yes, Crews that's it. But what's important isn't the why… it's that I do" she said honestly between kisses.

"You're right, you're always right… that's why I love you" he said breathlessly before he kissed her deeply and passionately, each stroke of his tongue plunging deeper into her mouth.

_Geez… get a room_ Jack thought as he watched through the binos from the car. He was forced to throwing the binos on the seat beside him, before the scene got X rated. He didn't think he could take seeing the things Crews probably did to and with his daughter. Just thinking about it made him kinda sick.

Slowly Jack Reese started the car and drove down the hill making plans to find his wife and try to patch things up, all the while concluding Crews really needed a fence.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Jack considered the penalty for totally abandoning his family, while he sat in front of his former home, which now sat silent, dark and empty. His whole adult life was spent living in that house, from the time he met and married Dani's mother, Roya, to the day he walked out on them without a word.

He remembered vividly the day when he first laid eyes on the exotic looking shy young woman from Iran, he remembered how hard he'd worked to get her attention and the anger of her parents when Roya agreed to marry him – a non Muslim – a westerner. Back then she loved him, he wondered if she still did and he wondered - where she was, if not here in their home.

To find out, Jack knew, would involve a return trip to his daughter's house, the great big one she shared with Charlie Crews. It set Jack's teeth on edge to think about going back there and having to deal with Crews again, the man irritated Jack by the simple act of drawing breath.

Of course, it didn't help that Crews was not intimidated by him in the least.

What worse could happen the younger man probably thought – but there were things worse than prison, like losing your family, like having to leave them in order to protect them.

Dani still retained a tiny bit of residual memory from her childhood, which made her respect and possibly fear him, but Crews… The man seemed eager to pick a fight with him, Jack thought, _but then if I were him - I'd have come after me a long time ago. Compared to me - Crews is subtle_, Jack Reese considered.

He drifted back to that first meeting with Roya, whose name he vaguely recalled was Farsi for "dream or vision" and she was all that and more. She was small, with fine features, coal black hair and eyes and an allure beyond anything Jack Reese experienced with the typical California fare of leggy, blondes in bikinis. He was smitten immediately and she was likewise enamored of him, but when he went to her parents – he still remembered the fight – even if he failed to see the parallels.

Her father did not believe Jack's black Irish working class background was suitable for his daughter, not to mention Jack was Irish Catholic. But religion seldom matters to young people in love and she chose him over her family and never looked back. With the arrival of Dani, they were a family of and for themselves, but Jack had ruined all that. He thought money would make their lives better, but it can't - money can only buy things and things don't endure - family does. It was a lesson twenty years in the learning, but it was beginning to sink in through Jack Reese's thick skull.

The dark house held their small family for thirty years. Through it flowed extended family, brothers in blue from the department, members of his SWAT team; there had been cookouts, holiday meals and during quieter times, homework with his young daughter around the kitchen table. He remembered teaching Dani to ride a bike on this street and watching her learn to skate, fall, get up, try again, fail again, but his spirited little girl did not know the meaning of the word quit. There were happy times in that house, or at least that was how he chose to remember it.

He never had to deal with "in-laws" because from the day Roya married him, her family disowned her. This was fine with Jack because he never liked them anyway, remembering the stern judgment of Roya's father and his disapproving stare as they left for the last time. Roya was a proud woman and stubborn like him, they never looked back. Now, some thirty years later Jack took stock of what he had gained, what he had lost and what he had simply given away, given up on.

He had no idea, beyond asking Dani, where to begin to look for his wife. All the "in's" he had with the Department and "them" were burned - when he walked away. The only ties he could ever hope to recover were those with his obstinate daughter and perhaps his wife, the only person Jack could ever remember truly loving. He knew Roya loved him_. Why else would she stay_ he thought _after that mess with the Bank of LA when I was such a miserable bastard. _

He remembered the day it changed, like it was only a moment ago. How he began looking over his shoulder constantly, how tired he became and how guilt and suspicion changed him and he'd become bitter and short tempered. He recalled how he no longer had time for his daughter; he remember the disappointed look on Dani's face when he would no longer play ball with her and how that disappointment and neglect over time turned to hate.

No amount of money was worth what it did to his family, what it was still doing.

As he drove across town to Crews house, he knew the younger man would meet him at the door, ready to do battle for his family. Jack thought about the difference between himself and Charlie Crews. He thought about how he took and Charlie Crews gave. Jack took money that didn't belong to him and while he eventually gave his share to charity – the act had stained his immortal soul.

Crews gave - twelve years of his life and while the man was eventually exonerated, released and given a hefty sum of money, the young man bore scars beyond the ones you could see with your eyes. Jack heard stories of the hell Crews endured in prison and like most stories Jack knew they probably didn't come close to the reality of Crews life at Pelican Bay. There were the clinical records, 241 stitches, 27 broken bones, multiple beating and stab wounds....a cop in prison...basically hell on earth, but a hellish nightmare you couldn't wake up from or escape.

Jack chose his path and Crews' was chosen for him.

Jack had become bitter and Crews had become bright.

Between them both was his daughter, Dani; Jack had pushed her away and Crews welcomed her with open arms.

In a strange way, Dani was with Crews because she wanted what Jack denied her – attention, affection and trust and Crews gave all that to her -- all that and more.

Then he considered the little girl, his granddaughter, Sam. Officially, Samantha Alexis Crews - Dani had informed him. The third generation of women from the same proud heritage. What would the world hold for his granddaughter? Would she know him or would he deprive himself of knowing her as Dani's grandfather had?

In that instant Jack Reese realized he did not intend to repeat the mistakes of Roya's father. He wanted to be part of his daughter's life, his granddaughter's life and if that meant he had to take Charlie Crews in the bargain, so be it. So Jack Reese, parked his car in the broad circular drive of the Crews house and walked toward his future.

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Jack knocked on the door to the giant house but not seeing any sign of the Maserati, he didn't really expect an answer. They're probably at work and the kid's with a sitter, but once he decided on a course of action, Jack was anxious to get underway.

He was about to walk away, when he heard the distinctive voice of Samantha Crews announce like she was four going on fifteen "I'll get it Gramma". The door handle actioned slowly and from his surveillance the night before Jack knew it was because Sam could barely reach the handle. _Honestly, Crews should keep his doors locked,_ mentally noting to talk to the younger man about it.

The heavy door opened a crack, being hauled back by a very determined little girl. But the door was too much for her and after getting it open about ten inches, Sam, in socks on the marble floor, began to lose the battle. Jack put his hand in the middle of the door and pushed gently.

"I can do it" Sam said with a furious scowl. This was his granddaughter every ounce her mother, pure determination and fury, dressed in dark curls.

"I know you can, but how about you let me help" he offered. Sam cocked her head sideways in a gesture that was distinctively Crews and considered his offer. Her ever present shadow, the slight border collie, Ripley stood by her side, his head down and tail still, trying to convey he was a force to be reckoned with.

"Who are you?" she said – _direct, in your face, pure Dani_ he thought.

"I…um…I'm Jack" he settled for. Sam arched an eyebrow and again Jack was immediately reminded of his daughter's mannerisms.

"Is that your car?" she inquired.

"Yes" he said simply. Communicating with a four year old can be trying for most people, but Jack Reese despite his aplomb with children was seriously out of practice.

"You can't leave it there – that is where Mommy parks" she dared him, eyebrow still arched in defiance.

"Is that so?" Jack placated the girl looking past her for an adult. She said grandma so Crews mother must be here, but in the back of his head the impression that Crews' mother died while the young man was in prison trickled to the forefront. He was saved from further grilling by the junior detective, by the appearance of Roya.

His wife paled and exclaimed something he did not catch in Farsi, under her breath and leaned heavily against the wall close to fainting. Jack stepped forward to aide his wife, but the moment he crossed the threshold, Ripley decided he did not like this and bared his teeth snarling viciously and stepping in front of Sam to defend her.

Jack was now frozen, unable to go forward, unwilling to go back.

Sam for her part produced a tiny Firefly cell phone from her pocket, punched a single button and when the voice on the other end pronounced "Crews" she spoke two words "Daddy" and "trouble".


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Crews moved so fast he was nearly a blur as he grabbed Dani by the hand and dragged her toward the elevator. "Trouble at home" was all he said, diverting at the last minute for the stairs. He did not have the time for elevators today. He took the stairs two and three at a time, leaving Dani to scramble hard to keep up with her longer legged husband/partner.

Knowing he would not leave without her, she tossed him the keys as he reached the top of the stairs and he sprinted to the fast car parked nearby. She heard the throaty growl of the Maserati as it sprung to life and the squeal of the tires as Crews edged it out of the parking lot quickly. He stopped beside her beckoning for her to get in and snapping her head back with the force of his acceleration, and simultaneously slamming her door shut as he sped away.

Dani was winded, but already dialing. Sam answered on the second ring, crying and Dani could hear Ripley growling and snapping in the background, but close enough to the little girl to drown out her voice at times. Dani asked what happened, which got no meaningful reply. She then tried a different tack "Where's Gramma?" This only produced harder crying from Sam.

Dani shrugged unable to elicit anything meaningful from her daughter, took a deep breath and willed herself to be still and calm. Crews gift to her - Zen in moments of chaos. Dani's calm, clear voice belied her own fears and lent strength to her scared daughter, Charlie was incredibly proud of her in that moment.

"Honey, calm down." she said "Are you okay?"

"Yes" came the simple response and the tightness in Dani's chest eased. Crews was watching her while traveling at insane speeds.

"Crews watch the road" Dani ordered in a whisper with her hand over the phone, wondering why it seemed like only women multi-tasked well.

"Is anyone hurting you?" She asked

"No. He's just standing there, but Gramma and Ripley…" her daughter trailed off.

"Who's just standing there?" Dani questioned quietly and with more calm, patience than any human being should be able to muster under these circumstances, Crews thought.

"Jack" Sam said. Jack Reese chose that moment to try to gently put his foot under Ripley and move the dog with his foot and get into the door and assist his wife.

"Don't you kick my dog!" Sam shouted loud enough for Charlie to hear over the engine's whine.

"It's my father. Go faster" Dani said to Charlie quietly, but unnecessarily.

Crews heart raced with the energy of a rabid dog. He drove the little Italian racecar like it was a rocket ship. Two things Charlie Crews absolutely could not take, the first was Dani in any kind of distress and the second was fear in his daughter's face or voice. Right now, both readings registered in the red as he dropped the car into a higher gear and raced toward his house.

"We're coming baby, just stay calm, everything will be alright" Dani promised her daughter.

Jack heard the car before he saw it. It sounded like it was traveling at just under the sound barrier as it climbed the hill to the house, hurtling through turns and coming to rest inches from the door.

"My mommy and daddy are coming and you are going to really get it" Sam turned from crying to taunting once she felt safety was at hand.

Crews exited the vehicle like he was shot from a cannon rounding the car and there was no stopping the blow that was coming. He hit Jack Reese with twelve years of fury knocking the man to the ground. Ripley chose this precise moment to seize upon Jack's pant leg and begin to shred it. Jack Reese raised his arm to fend off what he knew was going to be repeated blows and Charlie Crews was prepared to pick Jack Reese up and throw him off the side of a cliff, when Dani stayed him with a word.

"Crews" she said sharply and he looked up.

Dani nodded at Sam who stood red-faced, her little face tear streaked, struggling with the door, which now that Jack was flat on his back, was sliding closed. Charlie's right arm reached out to the door as he moved forward with his left and scooped his daughter up from the ground. She threw her tiny arms around his neck and cried into his shirt collar. Charlie Crews backlight by the sun, appeared as if his red hair was on fire. He looked like a man about to do dark and dangerous things and he was absolutely, irrevocably furious.

Dani scrubbed her face with hands, as her mother appeared at the door, recovering from her earlier shock. "Dad" she barked "what are you doing here?" she demanded, now knowing there was no real danger, just confusion, she began to sort through what had happened.

Ripley emboldened by backup from Charlie was now giving Jack serious hell as he kicked and thrash at the spry collie who was still energized. "Ripley, stop that" Dani said sharply and the dog stopped and cocked it's head at her. "Come're" she said patting her leg. Ripley cut a wide berth around the sprawling body of Jack Reese and slunk over to Dani certain he was in trouble. She bent down to pet the small dog telling him "good boy" and his tail began to wag furiously, wagging the rest of his body with it.

"See Mommy I told you Ripley was a good dog" Sam pronounced from her position of relative safety under the father's chin. Charlie's eyes were an amazing almost electric blue as she approached, his free fist still clench and entire body taut like a cable.

"Breathe Charlie" she spoke quietly only to him, but Crews seemed not to hear, until she touched his face. "Crews? You here?" she said to him.

"Hold her" he said trying to give his daughter to Dani.

"No. Charlie, you hold her. It might be the only thing that will keep you two from killing each other right now." Charlie shot his wife a dirty look that said he's got it coming for making my kid cry, but remained still, coiled, but unsprung for the moment.

Dani's mother said nothing, but moved to help her husband up with Dani's help and into the house. Roya was silent as she went to get the first aid kit, while Dani wet some towels in the sink. Crews stood glowering over Jack Reese, who was only just beginning to appreciate the young man's hatred and his own limitations brought on by age. In a fair fight, Charlie Crews would likely kill him Jack realized.

Crews spoke under his breath so Dani couldn't hear him, whilst rocking his daughter back and forth by twisting his torso slightly, "I warned you Jack. On a gurney" Crews repeated his promise from the night before with glittering, angry eyes.

Sam was tucked neatly under Charlie's chin, her tiny frame draped over her father's chest, watching Jack with her dark eyes narrowed, from a position of complete safety, but said nothing.

At Charlie's feet, Ripley continued to occasionally show his teeth in a silent growl Dani wouldn't notice, demonstrating the count was current three to maybe one, but Jack wasn't entirely sure Dani was on his side.

"Take off your pants" Dani directed.

Jack looked at her like she'd sprung three heads. "What?"

"I need to see if the dog bit you" she said studying him.

"I'm fine and I am not taking off my pants." Jack said firmly. "Not in front of my daughter and my granddaughter" he countered stubbornly.

"Fine" Dani said throwing the wet towel at him. "Mom can deal with you".

Dani left the kitchen, catching Crews hand on the way past and taking him with her into the living area, where they sat on the couch together. Sam disentangled herself from the father and migrated to her mother's lap. Dani gently brushed the hair back from her daughter's face examining her closely for any sign of injury or discomfort. Crews' hand stroked his wife's back, neck and shoulder.

After Dani satisfied herself Sam was fine, she allowed Crews to gather her into his embrace and leaned against him relaxing. Crews was watchful and protective, as stroked his wife's hair and kissed the top of her head. Their breathing began to match and Sam stilled, her eyes fluttering sleepily. Too much excitement had done the little girl in and she was ready for a nap.

When Jack turned back, his wife was standing there with the first aid kit still looking as if she was seeing a ghost. "It's me, Roya" he said gently. "It's okay" he said limping towards her.

She set the first aid kit on the table, as he approached. Her head dropped to her chest and Jack used a knuckle under her chin to lift it "hey" he said and her tears began to fall. Jack shushed her as he gathered her into his arms.

Roya clung to him like a drowning man does a life raft and Jack Reese felt tears prick the corners of his own eyes. He had two immediate thoughts: God he had missed her and this was what home felt like. He considered his morning and decided that a pair of destroyed pants, a few puncture wounds and a bruised jaw were a small price to pay for having her back in his arms and despite all that had happened, Jack Reese smiled for the first time in many years.


	7. Chapter 7 Fin

Chapter Seven

In the aftermath of the hectic morning, full of the ghosts of the past, Dani sat cradled against the chest of her husband reconciling his flashes of furious anger with the gentleness she knew was at Charlie's core. He was a patient father, full of smiles and time for his daughter. Dani knew instinctively it would be this way with all their children. He was an attentive, enthusiastic and skilled lover and patient with her, even at times when she didn't deserve it, in their bed and out.

Their nine-year age difference seemed to balance him and while at times he could behave with the enthusiasm of a ten-year-old boy, the joy and wonder he felt - and shared enriched all their lives. At other times, he seemed to have an "old soul" one that had been here before, mastered life and came back again and again to teach others the way. He paid attention in a way that only who had lost everything and got a cherished second chance could.

Dani knew the decision to allow Jack Reese into their house was her husband's, it was after all his house, his money they lived so well on, but she also knew that he divorced himself from his family for reasons entirely his own. Her family was all they had. Charlie explained his reasons for breaking with his father to her and Dani understood why Charlie hated his father and what Charles Crews Sr had done to Charlie's mother. The anguish of being forced away from Charlie had proved too much for his mother, and Charlie believed it killed her – and Charlie's mother may have been the only one who truly believed he was innocent all those long years. It hurt him terribly and there was not enough Zen in the world to forgive that act.

But Dani recognized beyond the calm, patient man she knew and loved, lurked another Charlie – one who was mighty and terrible, like a lion or a fire-breathing dragon from one of Sam's storybooks. His prominent display of aggressiveness and physical prowess this afternoon was a constant reminder that just below the tame surface lurked the predatory instincts that had kept him alive for twelve years in federal maximum-security prison. While it should scare her, it didn't, it made Dani feel warm and secure, safe and protected. Not that Dani Reese needed protecting and not that she would let anyone do that for her – well, not anyone but Charlie Crews. For him and only for him and their daughter, Dani made special concessions.

The alacrity at which Charlie's transition from mild mannered Detective to superhero this afternoon occurred was breathtaking. She replayed in her mind the focused determination and absolute commitment he showed when his family was threatened. She knew for certain Detective Charlie Crews would take a bullet for her. He had proved a dozen times over that he would trade his life for hers.

Sometimes it angered her because Dani felt Charlie was too cavalier about risking his own life and almost religious about protecting hers. But Dani also realized it was in Charlie's nature to love completely and some days she stood in awe of her husband, but never in fear.

She was transported in time and memory to the day they first met. It seemed like it was just a moment ago. She could see him standing there looking into the sun for what? Answers? Faith? Patience? She had no idea. "Looks like the dog took a bullet for the kid and then took off the shooter's finger. Anybody ever love you that much?" he'd asked. How could Dani have ever possibly known then - the correct response would be "Yes, you."

In the other room, her father 's deep voice reverberated off the marbled floors, unintelligible, but gentler and softer than she remembered. Her mother's more musical voice did not carry, but the pauses let her know it was a two-way talk. Her mother needed her father, while she had been gracious in accepting Charlie's offer to move in and live with them after Sam's birth, she knew her mother missed her own house and her own things. Charlie just didn't feel right about leaving Roya out there alone, always the gentleman, her husband.

Her father was a complex mystery to her, just like Crews had been – until Dani stopped trying to figure him out and just let him be. Dani liked who she was with Charlie Crews. Not so different than before, still stubborn, head strong and a bit domineering, but Crews did not care about that, he cared about her and when she let herself accept that - life in general got easier. It was sometime after she realized that she belonged with Crews, before she let herself realize she loved him. It was a gradual transition and one that surprised both of them.

She always knew Charlie loved her, but Dani no longer believed she had the capacity to place her faith in someone, which is what love requires to exist. But slowly with Crews painstaking patience, her faith returned, faith in him first and then her faith in herself. Just like one of Crews Zen sayings, when she was ready - it came, the realization that all she ever wanted was sitting in the passenger seat everyday, munching on apples and talking absently to fill up the space.

Dani remembered the day they both realized they could not deny their special relationship any longer. It came when they could spend all day in the car and felt no need to talk. There was no need to fill up the space with idle chatter; it was enough to simply sit, to be still and to be together. Charlie simply reached over and took her hand in his and that was it. It made her want to cry when she thought about the simplicity and elegance of their love. It was the day she stopped trying to outrun her shadow and realized that it was him, Crews. He was her shadow in sunlight and she was his in darkness – together they were balance.

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Charlie Crews sat on his chocolate brown, buttery soft leather couch deep in thought. His daughter slept peacefully in the arms of his wife, who reclined against his chest, not asleep, but relaxed safe in his embrace and deep in her own thoughts.

In the kitchen, he could hear the soft voices and hushed tones of his mother in law, Roya talking with Jack Reese, her husband – his father in law – his jailer and tormenter. It was apparent that despite all he had done to both women, they were willing to forgive him and allow Jack to come back.

Forgiveness was not something Dani was particularly good at either. More than one of their disagreements had resulted in her holding a grudge and for longer than he'd thought she should. But she always forgave him in the end, because she loved him.

Maybe that was what was going on in his kitchen right now between Roya and Jack. Eventually, you always forgive those you love because you have no other choice. You can't control who you love – love simply is.

Charlie was faced with a choice. Was Zen something he believed in and lived, or something he paid lip service to and used as a tool? Because to hold malice in your heart is not Zen, Charlie thought.

**Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal, intent on throwing it at another – the only one who gets burned is you. **

Charlie hated Jack Reese for who he was, what he had done and the pain it caused him and the loss. Crews lost his family, his job, his freedoms, but he had walked through that fire and came out cleaner and purer of heart. He emerged like tempered steel, stronger, yet more flexible, with all his past burned away. He now had a new family, one he loved more than life itself; he had a better job – one he shared with his partner and wife; and he was free - both financially and physically - he could do anything he wanted.

He had the freedom to make the choice that would heal scars and mend wounds no one could see - but they could all feel. Even Sam and Ripley could sense the disruption, the unnaturalness and Charlie knew his daughter did not know the face of evil, pain or torment, but still she could sense it. Charlie knew he should not do as he alone wished - he should do what was best for them - he just had to decide what that was - and then let himself accept it, so they could all move forward.

"What to do, what to do" he said absently to Ripley who lay at Charlie's feet. "Its so hard, Ripley, knowing what to do." The little dog looked at him expectantly, but had no answers. This dilemma was all Charlie's to figure out.

"Hmm" was a mumbled response from Dani, lost deep in her own thoughts and lulled to the edge of sleep by his rhythmic breathing.

"Nothing, sssh" he said softly stroking her head. "Just be still, Dani". He kissed her head and smiled into her hair, which to him smelled like sunshine would if you could smell sunshine.

His daughter was angelic in her mother's arms, not the feisty little spitfire she was during waking moments. When vertical, Sam lived her life wide open, the best of all of us he thought. She laughed freely and loved with her whole heart. She was everything innocent and wonderful. He fiercely guarded them both to prevent Dani further pain and Sam from any at all. But Charlie had to wonder if who he was protecting was really himself.

He considered the man Jack Reese was and concluded he did not know - he only knew the act and the act is not the man. A bad man can do something heroic in an instant but that does not make him a good person. A good man can make a bad choice, in Charlie's line of work he saw that all the time. People went to jail for the act, not because they were intrinsically evil. And sometimes intrinsically evil people never went to jail – like Roman.

Was Jack Reese evil or did he make a poor choice? Dani and Roya loved him still and that meant that some aspect of Jack Reese was good. Did he fall, hit the bottom, and the bottom broke and he fell again? Did Jack Reese just get lost? Charlie did not know. He found this was not a choice that could be made with his head, because he did not know enough facts – it would have to be made with his heart – not for Jack Reese, but for Charlie's girls, Dani and Sam.

He glanced down at his wife who was still stroking Sam's face and hair almost subconsciously. "Did you know that I don't really care if I have a son?" he told her. She looked up at him, but said nothing. "Most men are focused on having a son, but I would love nothing better than to have a house full of little girls just like you and Sam." It was an absolute truth that made tears spring to Dani's eyes.

"I love you Dani, so tell me what to do." Charlie said plainly.

"I don't expect you to forgive him." She answered and after a pause "or to forget what he's done, but…" She waited for him to lock eyes with her before continuing.

"If you were gone for five years without a word, I'd take you back the minute you walked through that door Charlie, I wouldn't be able to help myself. It doesn't make any sense, but I know that is what I would do."

"Sure after you beat me up and made me spend a month of Sundays on the couch" he tried to tease her gently.

But her furrowed brow told Charlie, Dani was quite serious "Oh, I'd be mad Charlie, beyond mad maybe, but I could no more not take you back than I could lift the Coliseum or breath under water. It isn't something I feel like I have any control over and some days it scares me – how much - how connected I am to you." She admitted.

"Your mom feels the same way about your Dad, I suppose." He said kind of sadly.

"I think so. He's still in big trouble with her Charlie, but she'll forgive him, she'll take him back – she has to – it's…" she stopped reaching for the word.

"Love" he said simply and Dani just nodded.

**Be soft in your practice. Think of the way as a fine, silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream. Have faith in its course. It will go on it's own way – meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, and the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight – it will take you.**

In the end there was no decision to be reached, there was the choice to fight what was coming or to let it come – Charlie chose to let it come.

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**Epilogue (five months later)**

Charlie Crews paced the hallway like a tiger in a cage. Jack Reese sat patiently while his concerned son in law raged under his breath. 'What is taking so long?"

Scrubbing his hands through his red hair, Charlie Crews sighed loudly "How can you just sit there?"

Jack smirked; the normally calm and imperturbable Zen Master was beside himself with worry for his young wife. "Crews…it will take as long as it takes. The doctors know what they are doing."

Jack worked hard over the past five months to rebuild his relationship with his wife, and their connection to Dani and her family. Sam had skeptically regarded him after their initial meeting and pronounced that she never had a "Grampa" before, followed hard upon by throwing her arms around him and hugging him with every ounce of strength in her tiny body. He felt like the Doctor Seuss character in the Christmas cartoon Dani watched every year when she was a child - whose heart swelled ten times it's size.

Sam was a joyous child who did nothing in halves, once she committed she threw her entire heart into the endeavor. Jack found he was a much better grandfather than he had been a father and he enjoyed learning who his granddaughter was. Even Sam's shadow, the ever present and clearly protective border collie, Ripley learned to begrudgingly accept him with mild wags of his tail, but never those full body wags reserved for the family. Ripley remained with Charlie, not entirely convinced this old leopard had changed his spots.

Crews remained somewhat cool to him, but cordial for Dani's benefit and yet somehow the two men found themselves the sole occupants of the second floor lobby waiting for the arrival of the latest addition to their fractured little family.

Dani was having the baby by Cesarean section and Charlie couldn't be there. Roya had taken Sam home to prevent her from becoming agitated by her father coming unglued. If Jack ever doubted Crews love for his daughter, he could see it manifest in the panic in the younger man's eyes now.

Hatchets buried and fences somewhat mended, they were never going to be fast friends, but Jack would never doubt the devotion of Charlie Crews to his daughter.

After what seemed an eternity, but was in reality only a brief four hours, the doctor emerged from the swinging double doors to give the "talk". Crews froze and paled, Jack honestly thought he might fall over.

The doctor smiled broadly and pronounced "congratulations you have a son", which most men would have broken out the cigars at. Crews simply stared at him, waiting, the man said "Mr. Crews, did you hear me?"

"How is she?" Charlie asked, his concern first and foremost for his wife. Jack had to admit he could not have selected a better man for Dani, even with his checkered past and the bias he originally held against Crews.

The doctor seemed taken aback, as if somewhat offended that Crews thought his wife was ever in danger. "She's fine, of course."

"When can I see her?" Charlie asked expectantly. Although Crews clearly loved his children, but there was no question to whom his heart and soul belonged.

"She'll be in recovery in about twenty minutes, I can have the nurse call down when she get's there, but she's very tired and she's not going to up to entertaining visitors" Crews stared at the man darkly. "But we'll get you in there to see her Detective" he added, swallowing hard at the look Charlie gave him.

"Don't you want to see your son Crews?" Jack said slapping Charlie on the back.

Charlie twisted his head to look at Jack without moving. "You go" he said flatly. "I need to see Dani" and the true desire and need to be with his wife was there in the tone and timbre of his voice. The young man was not relieved and would not be - until he could see, feel and hold his wife.

"Dani's tough as nails, son. She's going to be fine." Jack said quietly, trying to reassure Crews. "She finds out you are out here worrying about her, she'll be pissed at you" He tried to get Crews to loosen up.

"I…she… we….I" He gulped a breath, but no more words would form. Tears welled in Charlie's eyes and Jack felt immensely sorry for the man's suffering and worry.

"Did you decide what you are going to name the boy?" Jack said trying to distract Crews. "Charles Crews, III? Maybe you could call him "Trey"? Jack offered.

"No" Charlie said distractedly "I don't want him to have my name to carry around, to remind him of what is in my past…" he trailed off.

"But you didn't do those things, son" Jack offered.

"Doesn't matter, some people will never believe that. Dani and I don't want him to Google his name someday and see all that stuff." Charlie said firmly.

"Then what will you call him? Surely you two have talked about it?" Jack asked.

At that precise moment the nurse emerged announcing she was there to take Charlie to see Dani. The young man bolted like a three year old colt from the gate at Pimlico, throwing back over his shoulder, his answer, almost as an afterthought, "we going to call him Jack. Jack Evan Crews" as he strode out of earshot down the corridor to see his wife in Recovery.

Jack Reese stood in the lobby of that hospital and cried.

**THE END**

_Author's Note: I wrote this with an angsty kind of vibe throughout, but in the end I chose to end it happily. Although some may be disappointed at the end of the conflict, all conflicts must end. They do when we decide that what we are holding onto is preventing us from moving forward and being happy. Attachment is a form of suffering and it doesn't matter if you are attached to an expensive car or the belief that you are right and someone else is wrong. In the end those "things" don't matter, what matters is the now and trying to make it the best now possible for the most people. So I chose Zen - as I think Charlie would. _


End file.
